Personal Reflection on Unit B Part 1

Invigilating at Wales in Venice, volunteering at G39 and attending the Curating Contemporary Performance course at Arnolfini have all, on some level, been about my gaining experience within the broader contemporary arts scene.  Up until last year when I graduated, my experiences were very focused within photography and as this is only one element of what I am interested in and wish to pursue, I have been looking for opportunities to experience and learn about contemporary art in the broadest sense.

It could be useful to note here that I applied to invigilate for Wales in Venice with a written application, followed by an interview and I applied for the Curating Contemporary Performance course at Arnolfini with a short text explaining why I wanted to attend. G39 was a little more relaxed, as volunteering opportunities usually are.  If you look at my blog posts, you will see that I have recorded my experiences in separate posts.

With regards to researching the organisations / roles etc, it was only really necessary for me to research for Wales in Venice (discussed in this blog post).  I was already familiar with g39 as I regularly attend exhibitions and events at g39 (blog post here) and as for the course at Arnolfini, knowing very little about curating live art, I went in open and ready to learn (which you can read about here).  My research for Wales in Venice was particularly useful, as it allowed me to brush up on my knowledge about Bedwyr Williams, contemporary art in Wales and also learn more about the artists that have represented Wales in Venice in the past.

Invigilating for g39; a contemporary visual art space, participating in a course about curating contemporary performance and working for Wales in Venice as an invigilator for Bedwyr Williams and The Starry Messenger have all been fantastic experiences and each has taught me, in different ways, about practical involvement in the arts.  My time in Venice was particularly beneficial in this way.  I wanted to see Wales’ presence on an international platform and happily, I was able to witness how the Welsh Pavilion was one of the best in the Biennale.  To have the opportunity to support such an interesting exhibition, whilst also being given the time to experience the Biennale and the encouragement to undertake a personal project, was invaluable.

To try and describe how of this has all impacted upon my ideas for a career / my art form is really quite difficult.  It has helped to clarify that I do want to continue with an art form and with an art from that is broader than photography; I wasn’t really sure after graduating.  I have also been made to realise that I need to go after opportunities that I don’t think I’ll get; I nearly didn’t apply for Venice until a friend suggested that I should and convinced me that I could do it.  It was a similar situation with the course at the Arnolfini.  I’ve realised that I can apply for the opportunities that interest me, and that I can apply as an artist, or with a curatorial interest or as a producer / project co-ordinator!  An unexpected outcome, is that through these experiences, I have realised that I really enjoy reviewing.  It was something I had always wanted to do, but I never really had the confidence and/or reason to review something.  This blog has been my reason and it’s helped me to realise that I can do it and nothing terrible is going to happen once you send something like that out into the world!

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Below is a statement from Mererid Velios, Arts Council Wales, to confirm that I really was an Invigilator for Wales in Venice:

To Whom it may concern

I can confirm that Louise Hobson took part in The Invigilator Plus 2013 Programme for Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice at the 55th Biennale. She worked for 3 weeks full-time from 23rd September until 13th October 2013 as an invigilator and her duties included:

Meeting and greeting visitors and engaging them in conversations about Bedwyr Williams’s work and the visual arts in Wales.
Directing visitors through the show and ensuring their health and safety.
Opening and closing the exhibition, including switching equipment on and off (following the technical handbook).
Care of the work including daily and weekly condition checking and reporting.
Dealing with press enquiries.
Record keeping and admin, including counting visitor numbers and managing petty cash

As well as these duties for the exhibition, Louise also completed a personal project whilst in Venice and is presenting her project as well as feedback to the exhibition and the experience of being an invigilator, in a final evaluation report.

best wishes, Mererid

Info WVB
Cyngor Celfddydau Cymru/Arts Council of Wales
Plas Bute/Bute Place
Caerdydd/Cardiff CF10 5AL